Stored program controlled communication switching systems comprise some form of intelligence which controls switching functions in response to a program stored in memory. Historically, such systems included a single processing entity for the control of the entire system. As technology and system design evolved, it was found desirable to separate certain routine functions from the main processing entity to save its processing time for more complex system functions and decisions. Today, systems are being designed which also separate some of the more complex system functions and decisions into several intelligent processors. Throughout the evolution of switching system control strategies, changes have occurred in the way the various processing entities intercommunicate. Some systems have provided a separate controller bus structure to be used for all communications among the processors. Other systems have utilized the communication paths of the switching system to provide communication paths between the distributed system processors and a central controller which interprets control information and directs the overall operation of the switching system. These known systems, however, require that complex and time consuming operations be performed in their implementation. Further such systems cannot take full advantage of distributed processing due to their reliance on a central controller to direct the distributed processors.
It is the object of the present invention to obtain the benefits of interprocessor communication utilizing, in part, the communication paths of the switching system while reducing the complexity and time consuming nature of the prior art arrangements.